How long does it take to build a website? At CodexBeam, a Basic website takes 3–5 days, Standard 5–10 days and Premium 10–15 days, while an eCommerce store takes 7–21 days. The build itself is rarely the bottleneck. This guide sets out timelines by project type, shows where the time actually goes, and names the three things that delay nearly every project.
Realistic timelines
| Project | CodexBeam timeline | What moves it most |
|---|---|---|
| Landing page | 5–7 days | Copy and tracking setup |
| Basic website | 3–5 days | Content being ready |
| Standard website | 5–10 days | Page count and revision rounds |
| Premium website | 10–15 days | Custom features and revisions |
| eCommerce store | 7–21 days | Product count and customization |
These assume content is ready or being written in parallel, and that feedback comes back within two working days. When either slips, the calendar slips with it — which is why the next section matters more than this table.
Where the time actually goes
Discovery
Understanding the business, the audience, the competition, and what the site actually needs to achieve. Skipping this feels efficient and reliably costs more later, because design decisions get made on guesswork and then reversed.
Design
Wireframes first, then visual design in Figma. This is where most revision rounds happen, and rightly so — changing a layout in Figma takes minutes, changing it after the build takes hours.
Development
Turning approved designs into a working site. Counterintuitively this is often the most predictable stage, because by now the decisions have been made.
Testing
Cross-browser and cross-device checks, form testing, speed optimisation, accessibility review. The stage most often compressed when a project runs late, and the one that most reliably causes post-launch embarrassment when it is.
Launch
DNS, SSL, analytics, Search Console, redirects from old URLs. Short, but it needs to be done carefully — a botched redirect map can wipe out rankings built over years.
The three things that cause almost every delay
- Content. The single biggest cause. A build finished in a week can sit unlaunched for two months waiting on service descriptions and team photos.
- Slow feedback. A two-day turnaround on each review round keeps a project on schedule; a two-week turnaround on four rounds adds a month.
- Scope growth. “Could we also add a booking system?” mid-build is a new project, not a tweak — and it resets the timeline.
Can you build a website in a week?
Yes. A Basic website takes 3–5 days and a Standard website 5–10 days. What keeps a project inside that window is the same every time: a tight scope, content ready on day one, and feedback that comes back within a day or two. When those slip, the calendar slips with them, whoever is building the site.
Speed should never come from skipping steps. The parts that get dropped under time pressure are testing, SEO structure and accessibility — invisible at launch and expensive to retrofit — so ask any agency how testing fits inside the timeline it quotes.
Further reading: How Much Does a Website Cost in 2026? A Straight Answer, How to Choose a Web Design Agency (Without Regretting It), and our custom web design service. For the official guidance, see Google’s SEO Starter Guide.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to build a small business website?
With CodexBeam, a Basic website takes 3–5 days, Standard 5–10 days and Premium 10–15 days; an eCommerce store takes 7–21 days depending on product count and customization. These assume content is ready and feedback comes back within a couple of days.
Why do website projects run late?
Overwhelmingly because of content and feedback delays rather than development. Waiting on copy, images and approvals accounts for most overruns on small and mid-sized projects.
Can I speed the project up?
Yes — have your content written before design starts, nominate one decision-maker for approvals, and return feedback within two working days. Those three habits routinely cut a third off the calendar time.